Barbecued salmon, tomatillo salsa, making lettuce last, and defining "sweet" wine - includes recipes

Sunset, June, 1994 by Jerry Anne Di Vecchio

So as not to tax you with a headful of numbers, I regularly describe wines from 0 to 0.5 percent r.s. as dry, those from 0.8 to 1.5 as off-dry, and anything with 2.0 and up as frankly sweet. The gaps help take care of wines that could fall into the camp on either side, depending on tartness (tart wines can hide sugar just like green apples can), tannin (similar effect), and fruitiness.

To help you do a little self-calibration: spicy, faintly bitter Gewurztraminer can hide sweetness; try Obester Anderson Valley (0.3), De Loach Russian River Valley (1.4), and Geyser Peak Northcoast (2.3).

Blandly berrylike White Zinfandel and Zinfandel Rose tend to show r.s. readily, moving most winemakers to treat sweetness as a virtue; you might try J. Pedroncelli Sonoma County Zinfandel Rose (0.8), Seghesio California White Zinfandel (1.6), and Beringer California White Zinfandel (3.4).